Pages

Sunday, July 14, 2013

One of these days I'm going to get to a food blog
conference. This is not the year. Mostly it's a financial consideration.
Conference tickets, airfare, hotel.

And then there's the annoyance of travel.
Might as well figure a full day at the beginning and end of the conference for
travel time. And a day after to recover.

And then ... I wonder if I'm going to find something useful
enough at the conference so I feel like it was worth my time and
money. It's hard to know that before you go, right?

Or, maybe not. Casey Benedict, the guru behind the website
Kitchen Play and the co-founder of the food blog conference Eat, Write, Retreat
is offering a unique opportunity for bloggers to experience this conference
without all the pesky traveling, and at your own pace. You don't have to attend
all the seminars in two days, and you can use your time machine to re-watch
seminars that you found particularly useful.

Or, you know, just watch the video again.

Sure, you have to pay something for it. Is it worth it?

Or in other words, is there some takeaway value? Do you learn new things that you can use? Do you have that "aha!" moment when you hear something and it just clicks?

Those are the things I hope for, but I never knew if food blog conferences delivered them.

I previewed a video of a seminar about networking by Joy Manning called
"Contact High." She laid it all on the table, including the amount of
time she spends networking compared to the time she spends writing. And the
time spent sending emails that no one will ever answer. It made me feel a
little better about my schedule. I feel like I spend a lot of time not-writing,
but Joy says that networking is a really important part of her job.

Joy Manning. Photo courtesy of EWR

She shared her first "accidental" networking
success that showed her how important networking could be, and explained her
current marketing strategies.

One of my favorite bits was when Joy explained that
networking isn't a one-to-one exchange, and that you ought to plan on giving
more than you get. And, she said, while most people see the value in networking
with people who are more influential than they are, it's also good to network
with - and help - people who are just starting out.

Because you never know what
connections will be useful to you in the future.

Seeing this video made me wish I had gone to the conference.
But it's a great idea to have videos of presentations. You can watch, re-watch,
rewind, and refresh your memory about what the speakers said. Sure, you can't
hand out business cards or schmooze, but you can watch all the educational
components from the comfort of your own house.

And, it gives you a good idea whether you might want to
attend the conference in the future.

If you're interested in buying the conference videos,
they're availableHERE. and through at July 31 you can get 20 percent off with the discount code EWRCookistry.

Disclosure: I will be receiving the full set of downloads a no charge.

Cookbook author and food writer for Serious Eats, Whisk Magazine, and the Left Hand Valley Courier, among others. Columnist at American Recycler. Blogger at www.cookistry.com and reviews.cookistry.com.

All content is covered by copyright unless explicitly stated otherwise. A photo with proper credit and link is always acceptable. Email for prices and permission for other uses.

Want to send me a private message? Email to Donna@cookistry.com. Beware: spammers will be baked, boiled, and broiled. PRIVACY POLICY is HERE.

Cookistry is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. This does not cost you anything extra.